Blackbaud Gives Back Through Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, today shared several corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives the company has recently sponsored to support virtual volunteering and community relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"One of Blackbaud's core values is 'we give back,' and the importance of engaging employees and supporting communities has never been more important," said Rachel Hutchisson, vice president, corporate citizenship and philanthropy, Blackbaud. "Our employees care deeply about getting involved, and we wanted to provide new ways for them to make a difference virtually during the pandemic."

To embody the "we give back" value, the company introduced the following initiatives in the second half of 2020:

    --  Virtual Volunteering: This year, the Blackbaud CSR team has focused on
        identifying virtual volunteerism opportunities to provide employees with
        ways to get involved safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams around
        the world participated in virtual volunteering weeks, assembling 1,800
        care packages for seniors, children and the homeless; providing comfort
        toys for animals in shelters; writing letters of gratitude to healthcare
        workers; hosting a virtual camp to educate students about careers in
        STEM fields; and more.
    --  Blackbaud After School Program: With all global employees working
        remotely due to COVID-19, Blackbaud saw the need to support working
        caregivers with children at home during the pandemic. Teams across the
        company partnered to launch the Blackbaud After School Program, an
        innovative solution that enabled employee volunteers to give their time
        and expertise to entertain the children of their coworkers. By hosting
        live, virtual learning sessions, employees were able to provide
        entertainment for Blackbaud families, allowing working caregivers time
        to step away and focus on other tasks. Blackbaud volunteers and
        participants logged 380 hours of time together in 115 live sessions from
        mid-September through the end of November.
    --  Laptop Donations: Blackbaud recently donated 300 laptops to two programs
        that refurbish technology to get it into the hands of those in need,
        bridging the digital divide and diverting e-waste from landfills. The
        company partnered with two Microsoft-registered nonprofit
        refurbishers--InterConnection, located in Seattle, WA, and the Kramden
        Institute, based in Durham, NC. Blackbaud's IT and CSR teams worked
        together to identify devices that were available, select recipient
        organizations and securely wipe the machines to prepare them for
        donation.
    --  Annual Donation to One80 Place: For more than 20 years, Blackbaud has
        made an annual donation to One80 Place, an organization in Charleston,
        SC, whose mission is to end and prevent homelessness. In total,
        Blackbaud has donated nearly $420,000. This year, funds are being used
        to help even more individuals get back into housing during a critical
        time when COVID-19 has forced One80 Place's shelter to reduce its
        capacity. Despite this reduction, the number of individuals One80 Place
        supports has increased 23% this year, and the organization anticipates
        increased homelessness in the next 12-18 months due to higher
        unemployment and higher eviction rates. One80 Place's goal is to house
        900 individuals and achieve 85% housing retention for individuals who
        have successfully exited the program.
    --  Blackbaud Global Toy Drive: For the 21(st) year, Blackbaud has supported
        a global toy drive for the holiday season, benefitting 10 organizations
        around the world, including Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House and
        Boys and Girls Club, among others. This year, the toy drive went virtual
        with teams going online to participate in fundraisers and shop for toys.
        Blackbaud employees donated 6,152 toys this year, bringing total toy
        donations to more than 112,500 over the program's 21-year history.
    --  Annual Donation to the Charleston Post and Courier Good Cheer Fund: On
        Christmas Eve, Blackbaud will make its annual donation to the Charleston
        Post and Courier Good Cheer Fund, a community outreach program that
        helps people in need during the holiday season. Sponsored by individuals
        and businesses in the local Charleston, SC, community, the Good Cheer
        Fund benefits seven agencies: Association for the Blind, Carolina Youth
        Development Center, Catholic Charities, the Lowcountry Food Bank,
        Salvation Army, Star Gospel Mission and the Charleston Leadership
        Foundation.

While much has changed this year, Blackbaud's commitment to generosity remains. To learn more about ways that Blackbaud gives back, visit https://www.blackbaud.com/company/corporate-social-responsibility.

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world's leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community--nonprofits, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies and individual change agents--Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected benefits of products and product features. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organization; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

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SOURCE Blackbaud, Inc.